What is your full name?
Katerina Economou, I’m the vocalist of Escuela Grind
What was the first instrument that you played?
I always sang, but the first instrument I played was the clarinet
Tell me about one of your first musical memories?
I was exposed to live music and theatre from an early age. My parents used to have a restaurant where they would have acts come in and entertain and I loved staying up late watching people dance. My first concerts were Foreigner and The Village People when I was 5, and it was so enticing and exciting.
Tell me about the genesis of Escuela Grind.
Jesse and I started Escuela with our original guitarist back when we lived in Ithaca NY. It is a small college town and there were very few heavy bands. We had a more fastcore and powerviolence sound back then. But we started playing a lot of shows early on, in as many places as we could. Back then Jesse and I also were in school, so one day when I started screaming “escuela” over a d-beat, the word stuck and became our name.
How long did it take you to write and record Memory Theater?
The process of Memory Theater was a long one. We started writing the first songs before the pandemic hit when we were about to release our first self-recorded album. Then when we were forced to lockdown, we all lived together and spent our months writing, demoing, editing, and rerecording. We wrote these songs with the vision of how people would move to them when we were able to play shows again. There was an emphasis on peaks and valleys in the dynamics of the songs. We recorded the album with Kurt Ballou in August of 2021 and it was picked up by our label MNRK Heavy while we were constantly touring during 2022. The final release date was September 30, 2022. So overall it was over 2 years in the making!
If you could insert yourself into any one band what band would it be and why?
Yo, I’d kill to be in any formation of The Revolution, Prince’s band. Although I’m non-binary it’s important to me that Prince preferred working with women musicians, and they all had style and substance together. Peak musicianship and iconic music
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it? If so… What was the song and artist?
I always feel this way about music, haha. Being mostly a vocalist, I think it would be a challenge to write songs that don’t have any vocals or something non-human. That’s probably why the first album that came to mind was Discovery by Daft Punk. It’s such a great album top to bottom and I wish I wrote all those songs. Simple, effective, and catchy with enough nuance to keep me listening for all these years.
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
Tons of non-metal inspirations. Too much to write about but, I am a huge fan of RnB, House and Disco music. So I think people would be most surprised to find that Escuela Grind has this influence in my vocal patterns.
What band have you played with that has really impressed you with their live show?
Do you have a favorite venue to play at?
Patronaat in Haarlem Netherlands was my favorite venue we have ever played at. The venue itself sounds amazing, has all the amenities, and was laid out intuitively. The staff was so kind and accommodating. They really went above and beyond to make our show special and we are so grateful.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
I stretch and do vocal warmups, usually behind the merch table, before we are on stage. I used to have to calm my stage fright down a lot, so I would go to the bathroom and talk to myself in the mirror. Assured myself I was good enough/ cool enough and that the show was going to go well. While I don’t have to do that anymore, I still get very nervous so it’s helpful to have a way to hype myself up.
What is your favorite thing about touring?
Is there a city that you love to hit while on tour?
We have a great love and admiration for the small cities because often they have the most enthusiastic and exciting crowds. Missoula Montana and El Paso Texas stick out in this way. On our last US tour, we performed basically outside at a garage in Missoula in 18 degree fahrenheit weather. There was snowy slush on the ground and it was absolutely freezing, but kids still danced and packed the place out. It was insane, and so fun to experience.
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on the road?
Maybe this is not necessarily the “weirdest” but it is certainly the most uncanny experience. On our last tour we played a record store in Wyoming. That night Krissy, Jesse, and I each bought one thing. Jesse bought this stone pyramid thing that we were all saying how it was magic and we were gonna manifest something with it. Krissy bought a Dropdead record, and I bought this cool little Napalm Death toy. That night we got an email asking us to join on this month long European tour with Napalm Death and Dropdead… it was really cool and bizarre we were definitely freaking out in the van.
What advice would you give young musicians that are just starting out in the music business?
Hit the ground running and don’t let anyone tell you something is “cringe” or you can’t do something. Make it happen for yourself. Book shows, tour in your small car, borrow gear, learn how to record yourself, work the extra hours… These are all valuable skills that you can use in the future for any band you have, and it is very rewarding to be in control of your own progress like that. I know it’s all easier said than done, but if you really want it you can make it happen for yourself. When we first started Escuela Grind we did all the things I just mentioned while having 2-3 jobs to pay for the expenses. We believed in ourselves and the vision and have no regrets now because of the work we put in.
You’re driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time. What album will it be?
Parlamentarisk Sodomi’s “Der Anarkistiske An(n)aler”… I used to have this as like the only CD in my car for a whole year and it never gets old. I listen to it all the way through at least once every tour. I love screaming along with this album and air-drumming like crazy on it.
You are writing a book about your life thus far. What is the title of that book?
Short and Loud.
Massive thanks to Katerina for taking the time to answer my questions and for using “Yo” in this interview. I appreciate you. If sonic savagery is your cup of tea, then I strongly recommend you press play on Escuela Grind’s latest album Memory Theater. Doing so will allow you to get your head kicked in in the privacy of your own home!
~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson host of the Fistful of DOOM show)
Ps- I’ve got their latest album on pink vinyl. Just sayin…
Comments